Digital start-up access to venture capital financing: What signals quality?

Abstract

What signals quality for digital startups seeking access to external finance? Analyzing a unique dataset from India, we investigate the impact of traditional quality signals (e.g., the founders’ years of experience, prior industry experience); networking signals (e.g., degrees from elite educational institutes, the breadth of an entrepreneurial team); and digital signals (e.g., the social media presence of the startup on multiple social media sites) on the access to venture capital financing. We find that while networking and digital signals positively impact access to financing, traditional human capital signals do not have any significant impact on the process.